He fought Cedric Boswell, Vaughn Bean, Kirk Johnson, Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, Obed Sullivan, Fres Oquendo, Kelvin Davis, Mo Harris, Sinan Samil Sam, DaVarryl Williamson, and several other big name fighters. With a list of opponents like this you would think you were hearing the tale of a great champion. However, this line will not be written on a plaque at the boxing hall of fame; it will more likely be found on a tomb stone of a fighter of which youíve probably never heard.

His name was Brad Rone, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Iíd never heard of him either, except that I had noticed his name on the records of several prominent fighters I had researched. He was a relative no-one in the sport; until now. Bradley Rone died last Friday of a heart attack while in the ring. He was fighting for the 6th time this year, trying to break a 25 fight losing streak, which spanned the last four years. He had a record of 7 wins, 41 losses, and had been knocked out 12 times. For whatever reason, he was still fighting, despite the string of losses, and the damage he had taken over the years battling some of the biggest names in the division, before they became the biggest names in the division.

Maybe he really needed the money to support his family, or some other pressing matter. But for whatever reason, he stepped into the ring last Friday for the last time. I canít help but feel that this tragedy could have been avoided had the local commissions stepped in. Rone had lost his last 25 fights before that night. The commission had no business letting this fight occur. The safety of the fighter is obviously in question and the commission should also be taking actions to make sure that competitive fights are being made. Instead, they allowed the fight to happen, and now a man is dead.

For those of you that think the responsibility should be on the fighter, to some degree you are correct. But the commission has a responsibility as well; like a referee in the ring, when a fighter can no longer defend himself sufficiently the commission must step in. A man that has been knocked out 12 times by some of the hardest punchers in the sport may not be in the right mind to decide for himself whether he can continue his career. For those of you that say these men need to be left alone to get money for their families, I think it is clear that the alternatives are far worse.

My deepest sympathies go out to the family of Bradley Rone. Very few of us even knew who he was, but let his name be spoken in every boxing ring around the nation, and every boxing commission meeting, as a grim reminder that boxing is a dangerous sport, especially when a commission doesnít care. Let this death not be a vain. Let us learn from this tragedy. If we forget the name Brad Rone, then soon enough there will be another article like this, only with a different name youíve never heard.

Let the commissions know you care!

For various state boxing commission info go to http://www.aaprp.org/body_state.html

Heavyweight Brad Rone, fighting to earn money to pay for his mother's funeral, collapsed in the ring in Cedar City, Utah, during his bout with Billy Zumbrun and later died at Valley View Medical Center, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported Saturday.

According to the Review Journal, Rone collapsed at the end of an uneventful first round where neither boxer landed a solid punch.

Rone took a punch from his opponent Billy Zumbrun with about five seconds left in the first round Friday night, the Associated Press reported.

Less than 10 seconds later, after the bell rang, Rone fell to the canvas. Rone stopped breathing and was later declared dead at Valley View Medical Center, according to Detective Ross Drishinski, Iron County Sheriff's office medical examiner.

There has been no official cause of death released. Officials are investigating the possibility that the 259-pound Rone suffered a massive heart attack, according to the newspaper.

Rone's body will be transported to the Salt Lake City medical examiner's office, where an autopsy will be performed, the AP reported.

Rone was offered the fight Thursday and took it in order to pay for the funeral of his mother, who had passed away earlier in the week.

Matchmaker Brad Goodman told the paper that Rone, who had an undocumented record of 7-41-3, was very distracted before the fight -- even forgetting to bring socks with him. Goodman drove him to a nearby shoe store where he bought a pair of socks.

"It took us about 10 minutes, and he was so distraught and he just kept saying how much he wanted to get home," Goodman said to the Review Journal. "He was playing gospel music -- religious music -- and said he had listened to it all day (Thursday). He was a great, great guy and he was just devastated by this."

Pete Sussens, a Midwest matchmaker, told the paper that Rone wasn't as focused as he normally is for a fight, but he noticed nothing else different before the bout.

"He was so depressed. You felt terrible for him," Sussens said to the paper. "You can usually joke around with him, but not tonight. He was a fearless guy with great courage and I had never seen him hurt in the ring. And he was a great, great guy. He'd do anything for you. It's a tragedy."